When a vacuum arises in the political arena, spin and misinformation often take over.

It’s a standard response and in London it’s been triggered by the lack of information Mayor Joe Fontana has provided in response to questions raised about federal-government cheques that paid for his son’s wedding reception in 2005.

Fontana, under investigation by the RCMP, said precious little in public before clamming up — under orders from his lawyer.

In the absence of information, stories have festered on Twitter and the broadcast airwaves as Fontana’s political allies and supporters have turned their guns on former Marconi Club manager Joe DiPietro, who told The Free Press he accepted the cheques.

Here are some of the things they are saying:

That DiPietro had political motives, with ties to former mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best.

That he sought out the press to disparage Fontana.

That DiPietro had been fired from the club and had some axe to grind.

That the timing of the story makes no sense, so it must be suspect.

Conspiracy theorists are having a field day. Theirs is a classic tactic among those anxious to take scrutiny away from uncomfortable information, using the same sort of misdirection relied upon by magicians.

Fontana isn’t speaking and DiPietro is feeling the heat in the Italian community and is reluctant to say much more.

On Tuesday he said he did not start the scrutiny of Fontana and merely responded to questions put to him by The Free Press.

“I did not provide documents nor bring this story forward,” he said. “I do not wish any ill will on Joe Fontana, the Marconi Club or anyone else involved.”

Meanwhile, an expert in political culture isn’t surprised by what he calls “the politics of information management, put less politely as the politics of spin.”

Paul Nesbitt-Larking, a political scientist at Huron University College at Western University, says whenever there are adversaries, “there is going to be a struggle for control of information.”

In August, I received a brown envelope in the mail containing three photocopied documents. The envelope had nothing to identify it and to this day I have no idea who sent it to me.

Inside was a cheque stub from Public Works Canada, dated April 6, 2005. Under “particulars” it read “INV 2661 Joe Fontana MP” and it showed the amount of $1,700.

Also there was a “provisional function contract,” numbered 2661, from the Marconi Club for a “wedding” June 4, 2005. The document, prepared for Vicky and Joe Fontana, was dated Oct. 20, 2004, and signed by Vicky Fontana and club manager Joe DiPietro.

The third item was invoice No. 10331 from the Marconi Club, dated June 4, 2005. It was made out to Joe Fontana itemizing details for an event for 260 people. It indicated a down payment of $1,700 had been made and called for payment of $18,900 after other numbers had been scratched out. It carried initials from a club official.

With the help of a colleague at The Free Press and others, I tracked down DiPietro, the Marconi Club manager from 2005. He was reluctant to discuss the matter at first, but eventually agreed to speak on the record.

DiPietro identified the documents I showed him at his house. He recognized his name on them and explained he personally received from Fontana the cheque associated with the cheque stub and another identical one later for the balance owing. He said he recalled this “vividly” because he had to call Fontana weekly for six months before receiving another Public Works cheque. Fontana had sought a reduction on the bill, and one had been granted.

DiPietro said he had just recently been contacted by the club seeking his advice about how to collect nearly $6,000 owing by Fontana for the wedding reception of another son this past June.

Such contact, one would think, would put the lie to any suggestion DiPietro left the club under a cloud in 2009 as some had suggested. Why would the club seek his advice today if that was true?

An insider with knowledge about the club today, but who didn’t want his name used, sat in on the interview with ­DiPietro and confirmed there had been trouble collecting from Fontana, who after 100 days of fighting, had just paid up in late September.

For his part, DiPietro expressed surprise the club would deal with Fontana because of the earlier payment history.

DiPietro made it known to me he had been friends since boyhood with Tim Best, husband of former mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best. He said he attended court daily when Best was on trial for drinking and driving offences.

But DiPietro said he has played no role in any campaign of the former mayor, a fact recently confirmed by her longtime campaign chief Don Peter.

Conspiracy theorists suggest something involving DiPietro, Best and the former mayor. But I have learned DeCicco-Best’s campaign was aware of the federal cheques during the 2006 and 2010 campaigns in which Fontana challenged the mayor but opted not to raise the issue back then because it would look like dirty tactics.

The envelope was sent to me while the Marconi Club was wrestling with how to deal with Fontana, hence the timing.

I waited nearly three weeks for the House of Commons to produce a second cheque stub or confirmation of a second cheque that I learned about from sources who wished to remain anonymous.

Three days before we broke the story, I asked Fontana detailed questions about the Marconi Club. He didn’t return repeated calls or e-mails.

Afterward, Fontana sought copies of the documents we had, claiming the images in the newspaper were blurry. We offered copies, provided he answered our questions. Again, he didn’t respond.